Thursday, 12 January 2012

I meant to post these in 2011 as I thought they'd be a good party dessert for the holiday season. I ran out of time. You're just going to have to have a dessert party now.

Mum and I made these a few times when I was little - preparing them was more of an event than the party we took them to. I loved waiting for them to cool until just the right point (somewhere between scorching and scalding) and then rushing to get them neatly curled up before they stiffened and shattered.

I decided to serve these drizzled with a sharp berry sauce. I always like contrast in desserts. The sweet spicy warmth from the ginger and brandy in the snaps plays off the cool, pure cream piped inside. The berry sauce adds an acidic edge while still pairing with the rich spicy flavours.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a baking sheet with a little butter but don't line it. Melt the syrup with the sugar and butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth (no crystals from the sugar). Take off the heat then beat in the flour, ginger and salt. Finally stir in the brandy.

Spoon the mixture onto the sheet in teaspoons, leaving quite a bit of space between each and only putting a maximum of 9 on a tray at once - start with a few as you have to work quickly to roll them. Put into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes - they should be lacy and a deep rusty gold (see the photo above). Prepare yourself while they bake with a wooden spoon (or another tool of a similar circumference), something to place the hot tray on and a wire cooling rack. Leave to firm up a little on the hot tray for 2 minutes. If any have spread into each other, quickly cut down the join with a sharp knife.

When you can lift them up and they don't break but are still pliable, lift one off and quickly wrap it around the handle of the spoon. Hold for a moment then slide off and leave to cool completely. You need to work quickly as the moment when they are perfectly pliable is short.

I really recommend making a sharp berry sauce to drizzle over the brandy snaps. To do so, heat the berries gently (I used frozen berries) until they're soft. Add icing sugar to taste. Finally pass through a sieve to get rid of any seeds and skin.

To fill the brandy snaps, whip up the cream until it holds firm peaks (but be careful to not overwhip - you just need it strong enough to stay in the snaps and not run out). Fill a piping bag and pipe into each brandy snap. Drizzle with the sauce if you're using it. Eat with your fingers.

Elly - Thanks! They were surprisingly hard to photograph - the colour is hard to get right for some reason.

argone - Sometimes a bit of mess is wonderful! The taste is worth it :)

thelittleloaf - Hehe glad you like it - I wanted to show how they look when they come out. The formation of the lacy lattice a bit like magic!

Erika - Hehe that's always good to hear! I hope you've managed to make them.

Domestic Executive - I think you should try them again. For experimental purposes if nothing else! I go through phases when I feel like I've eaten too much of something I like too - the desire usually comes back after a while :)

Jolene - You do need to work quite quickly while they're still soft but I promise it's not too hard! You can always re-warm them a bit if they get a bit snappy.

Baking Addict - I loved seeing them on GBBO. My mum has been asking me to make them to post for absolutely ages - finally got around to it! You should give them a go, they're delicious.